(A) Continued conformity with bulk regulations. The maintenance of yards and other open space and minimum lot area legally required for a building shall be a continuing obligation of the owner of the building or of the property on which it is located, as long as the building is in existence. Furthermore, no legally required yards, other open space, or minimum lot area allocated to any building shall, by virtue of change of ownership or for any other reason, be used to satisfy yard, other open space, or minimum lot area requirements for any other building.
(B) Division of zoning lots. No improved zoning lot shall hereafter be divided into two or more zoning lots unless all improved zoning lots resulting from each division shall conform with all the applicable bulk regulations of the zoning district in which the property is located. However, with respect to the resubdivision of improved zoning lots in the R6 Districts, side yard requirements shall not apply between attached buildings.
(C) Location and required open space. All yards and other open spaces allocated to a building or dwelling group shall be located on the same zoning lot as the building or dwelling group.
(D) Required yards; existing buildings. No yards now or hereafter provided for a building existing on the effective date of this chapter shall subsequently be reduced below, or further reduced if already less than, the minimum yard requirements of this chapter for equivalent new construction.
(E) Permitted obstructions in required yards. The following shall not be considered to be obstructions when located in the required yards specified:
(1) In all yards. Open terraces not over four feet above the average level of adjoining ground but not including a permanently roofed-over terrace or porch; awnings and canopies; steps four feet or less above grade which are necessary for access to a permitted building or for access to a zoning lot from a street or alley; chimneys projecting 18 inches or less into the yard; recreational and laundry-drying equipment, arbors and trellises; and flag poles;
(2) In front yards. One-story bay windows projecting three feet or less into the yard; overhanging eaves and gutters projecting three feet or less into the yard; fuel pumps and air and water service, provided they shall be set back at least 15 feet from the front lot line;
(3) In rear yards. Enclosed, attached, or detached off-street parking spaces; open off-street parking spaces; accessory sheds, tool rooms, and similar building or structures for domestic or agricultural storage; balconies; breezeways and open porches; one-story bay windows projecting three feet or less into the yard; and overhanging eaves and gutters projecting three feet or less into the yard; and
(4) In side yards. Overhanging eaves and gutters projecting 18 inches or less into the yard; fuel pumps and air and water service, provided they shall be set back at least 15 feet from the side lot line.
(F) Floor area ratio application in particular cases. In all cases where two or more continuous zoning lots are in common ownership and there was at the adoption date of this chapter an existing building on one of the lots with less than the permitted maximum floor area ratio; the owner may elect to add the unused portion of the floor area ratio of the existing building to the maximum floor area ratio of any addition to the existing building to be constructed on the adjoining zoning lot; and in the event the existing building was lawfully existing at the date of adoption of this chapter and exceeds the permitted maximum floor area ratio, an addition to the existing building to be constructed on an adjoining lot shall be entitled to the maximum floor area ratio permitted in the district in which it is located.
(Ord. O-95-2-12, passed 2-9-2012) Penalty, see § 155.999